Where does “nitty-gritty” come from?
nitty-gritty (English) comes from English gritty, from English -y, from Middle English -y, from Old English -iġ, from Proto-West Germanic -g, from Proto-Germanic -gaz, from Proto-Indo-European -ḱos — -y, -ic.
nitty-gritty (English): The core or essence of something; the details
Definitions
- The core or essence of something; the details
Ancestry of “nitty-gritty”, step by step
nitty-gritty traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English gritty
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | gritty | Containing sand or grit; consisting of grit;... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |